Fishing vessels offered rebate for tracking devices

THE STATE Government will offer up to $970 in rebates for the purchase and installation of vessel tracking units as part of its effort to crack down on illegal fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

All commercial and charter boats will be required to have the units installed and operational by January 1, 2021, while net, line and crab boats will be required to have them up and running two years earlier, by January 1, 2019.

Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the rebate scheme would be available until December 31, 2020, for all commercial fishing boat, harvest and charter licence holders.

"The scheme has been designed so that the majority of fishers should not be out of pocket for the unit purchase or installation costs," he said.

"This list of approved units includes... smaller, more affordable units that have been trialled over the past year."

Commercial fishers must purchase a vehicle tracker that has been approved for use in their fishery before using FishNet to register their unit with Fisheries Queensland.

They can then apply to the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority for reimbursement.

A Spot Trace vessel tracking unit approved for use on commercial fishing and charter boats.Queensland Fisheries

Reimbursements of up to $300 will be available for category A units like Spot Trace, while reimbursements of up to $750 will be available for category B units such as Skywave.

Up to $220 in reimbursements will also be made available to cover installation costs.

All approved units purchased from June 1 are eligible.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said GBRMPA was pleased to contribute to the $3 million rebate scheme.

"Given that accumulated pressures are impacting the reef's resilience, the benefits of protecting no-take zones... are more (apparent) than ever before," Dr Reichelt said.

For more information on the vessel tracking unit rebate scheme, visit qrida.qld.gov.au